ZenCash is on the upswing! Here is a brief update on the softfork upgrade scheduled for Tuesday, an explanation of how ZenCash is doing a bootstrap in order to grow in a sustainable long term manner, and what users can do with ZenCash that is special and unique.

Mandatory Upgrade for Pool Operators and Exchanges

The mandatory node software upgrade we have planned is in the testing phase, with the ZenCash community developers working closely with the IOHK development team to make sure the next version of Zen node software does exactly what it is supposed to do. For an explanation of the reason for the mandatory upgrade, also called a softfork, look at yesterday’s post at https://blog.zencash.com/zencash-update-saturday-june-10-at-10-pm-eastern/

What do most people have to do to prepare for this event, scheduled for block 117,575? Nothing! The ZenCash you have on the Bittrex exchange, at your mining pool, and in your wallet is safe. You don’t have to get new wallet addresses, update your mining rigs, or do anything else for this upgrade, scheduled to happen on Tuesday at about midday.

The people who have to do something are the people who operate the infrastructure that makes ZenCash work. People who run mining pools, operate solo miners, and run exchanges, like Bittrex, need to upgrade their Zen node software before the softfork. Mining pools that don’t upgrade before block 117.575 will not be able to add new blocks to the Zen blockchain, and the miners connected to their pool will be doing non-useful work.

One of the reasons we publicize this so widely is there are many people running ZenCash mining pools all over the world, and we want to make sure they know they need to do an upgrade.

What benefits will users get from this? When we publish the updated Zen node software that has the fixes in it, the big benefit is that the Zen network will no longer be susceptible to a transaction replay from Zclassic. As soon as they are ready, binaries for Windows and Mac wallets will be released, and people will be able to update their ZenCash wallet software. With updated wallet software, everyone will be able to send and receive ZenCash safely. Expect to see the updated software about a day before the mandatory upgrade time.

When you get the updated wallet software and run it, it should have the same effect as upgrading Microsoft Word software to a new version. Upgrading Word changes the functionality and adds security improvements, but does not affect the word documents on your computer. Similarly, upgrading your wallet software does not change your ZenCash addresses, it just makes the wallet software better.

Once the ZenCash mandatory software upgrade is complete, we can get on with the original plan.

Funding for Growth – A Long Term Plan

ZenCash is similar to Zcash, and has software that is basically a direct copy of Zcash, but has a different focus, and a different funding mechanism.

Zcash is an outstanding project, with excellent technology and extensive partnerships. Zcash development is funded, for the first four years, by a redirection of 20% the mining rewards. This redirection goes to the Zcash team, and some gets paid to the investors who fronted the money for Zcash to get started. That type of venture funding is a great way to get a project off the ground, and has worked really well so far for Zcash. By year 4, when the mining redirection for Zcash stops, the team will have built a great product, with many partners, and should be fully self-sustaining.

We are doing things a little differently at ZenCash. Instead of starting out with a large amount of funds for development, marketing, partnerships, and everything else a successful organization needs, we are starting out with a community, a coin, and a funding mechanism. We are starting with no money, and bootstrapping our way to success.

Instead of 20% for 4 years, like Zcash, ZenCash is doing a redirection of 12% of the mining rewards for the life of the project. 3.5% goes to maintain the infrastructure (the secure nodes), and 8.5% goes to the treasury for the organization to spend on development, maintenance, improvements, and all the other expenses a viable organization needs to spend money on to thrive and grow.

Purpose – Anonymous Secure Currency for People Worldwide

By focusing on the needs of individual users, ZenCash will address an entirely different market than Zcash. The projects are not competitive, but rather, complementary. ZenCash is focused on providing a useable anonymous crypto-currency and secure communications system for people all over the world.

Why anonymous? Well, why not?! We think people have a right to privacy in their lives and their actions, and just because they use technology, does not mean that technology should give large organizations or governments the ability to track everything the users of the technology do. Many people live in places where they fear for their lives just for saying or doing things that are perfectly legal and respectable in other parts of the world. That is not fair, and it is not right!

If we are able to make a useful cryptocurrency that people want, then, based on supply and demand, the price should go up. With an increase in price, ZenCash will have more money each month in the treasury to spend on improvements and making the system better. Because we start out with a community, and a focus on what users want, we will continue to make the changes and improvements that individual people want in their secure cryptocurrency.

Our intention is to add improvements to ZenCash so the currency can even be used, without being tracked or detected, in countries where cryptocurrencies are currently banned and blocked. Because ZenCash has a secure messaging function, inherited from Zcash, it should enable completely anonymous communications and publishing all over the world as well. If ZenCash can help bring freedom to oppressed people, even in a small way, it will be very exciting for everyone involved in the project!